Rosanna-danna

Years ago I was a regular viewer of Saturday Night Live.  Back in those early days, the characters and skits were simply hilarious.  At least I thought so.  Lots of famous comediennes gained their fame from the characters they played on SNL.  Gilda Radner was one of those people, her career cut short by ovarian cancer. 

Rosannadanna was a commentator she portrayed in a news segment with Jane Curtin.  One of the lines she often repeated was "It just goes to show ya', if it's not one thing, it's another." 

And it sure is.

Why is it we can't learn to take every obstacle in stride, trusting God, moving forward at His command, waiting patiently and listening closely for our marching orders. 

In the book of Joshua, the story continues of the Israelite nation.  After 400 years in slavery in Egypt,  generations lost to wilderness wanderings, God had brought them to the land He promised their ancestor Abraham.  They had not had a home, they knew nothing about a permanent dwelling place, just the promises that must have seemed at times like pipe dreams or fairy tales. 

But here they were, the land was before them, and God said it was time.  The inhabitants of the land had been given all those many years to change their ways, turn from the horrible idolatry and it's practices. 

Rahab did.  She and her household were spared. But even after witnessing the waters of the Jordan opening for these people, even after the walls of Jericho fell flat, these clans of people refused to change their hearts.  And it brought destruction to every person. 

I think about what it would be like to be an Israelite in that time.  I feel quite sure my expectations would have been unmet.  I would not have expected so many battles to fight.

My expectations in my own life in this day are so often unmet.  I tend to have scenarios written out in my head.  (And God rarely accomplishes any single thing like I have written.  Imagine that...)

The Israelites won some major battles, well, God really won them.  The Jericho walls sure didn't fall from the force of human feet walking around the city.  One battle was won because God sent hailstones from heaven, "As they fled from before Israel... the LORD threw large stones from heaven on them...there were more who died from the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword."(Joshua 10:11 NASB)

When the enemy retreated, God Himself destroyed those who had escaped the sword of an Israelite warrior. By controlling the forces of the very nature He created, He manipulated the weather and sent hailstones falling from the sky, stones big enough to kill.

But it wasn't over.  Victory was sweet, but there were many many other battles.  "If it's not one thing, it's another"

At 63 years old, it still is.  This morning in my quiet time I reflect on my own battles and victories.  Where would my family be had God not fought with us and for us? 

But how many times have I neglected to stand strong or march forward on His Word? 

I so often have felt like Joshua did in Joshua 7.  So many times I have felt  defeated and pitiful, going into a tailspin, falling on my face and whining. 

Joshua led the warriors into a battle only to be defeated in what he thought was a sure and easy win. 

"Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until the evening, both he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads.

Joshua said, "Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us?...the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth.

And what will You do for Your great name?" (Joshua 7:6-7 NASB)

Really Joshua?  What will God do for His great name in the face of human defeat? 

Poor Joshua.  I feel like he did.  It is's not one thing it's another.  Fight one long hard battle and taste sweet victory, only to live to face another battle.  And another.  And another. 

God has shown Himself to be merciful to our human emotions, he sent ravens with food to feed Elijah. (1 Kings 17)  Later, when Jezebel vowed to kill him, he hid and whined that "I am the only prophet left"  Jezebel had killed them all and was after Elijah.  God listened to the emotional outburst and sent Elisha alongside him.  (1 Kings 19)

God created us with emotions and I believe he understands them far better than we do.  He allows us to FEEL, but refuses to allow us to be LED only by what we feel.  Our emotions can NOT be the thermometer of our lives. 

He has written by Jeremiah's pen that   "The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out.   But I, GOD, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be." (Jeremiah 17:9-10 from The Message)




God allowed Joshua to feel the emotions of defeat then "GOD said to Joshua, "Get up. Why are you groveling? (Joshua 7:10 from The Message)

"Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?" (KJV)



If it's not one thing, it's another.  People do things they shouldn't do.  I do things I shouldn't do.  And it is never, EVER just about me.  My rebellioun touches you.  Your disobedience touches me.

Praise God for the Redeemer Who takes all of our 'things' and cleanses us from our rebellion, disobedience, failure, fear, and emotional tailspins. 

"Get thee up, Connie"

Preventative

I have been on some medication for a few months to prevent an ulcer from forming in my digestive track.  My cardiologist says he may want me on the heart medication he has prescribed long term, in case this Takotsubo cardiomyopathy reoccurs. Preventative measures they call it...strategies to prevent possible illness in my future. 


I have been reading about the battles that Joshua led as the Israelites began to take possession of the land God had promised to them.  It is unpleasant to read of the slaughtering of entire cities.  

God had given the inhabitants of that land hundreds of years to turn from hideous idolatry, idolatry that even involved sacrificing children to their gods. But there was no repentance, it just seemed to get worse. 

Genesis 15 tells of the promise made to Abraham, the predictions of 400 years in a land not their own, four generations later to return.  All those years, rather than turning to God, the hearts of these nations of people got harder and further from God.  

They could not say that God had not given them opportunities. There were plenty.  

I wonder if one of the reasons God had them all wiped out was a preventative measure. 

"...you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire." (Joshua 11:6 NASB)

Hamstringing horses is unpleasant to think about too.  These animals were mighty beasts of war. And burning up perfectly good chariots??  Why?  

Maybe that too was preventative.  

They had been victorious in their conquests by God's supernatural power, not their own might.  
Yes.  They fought.  
Yes.  It was difficult. 
And yes.  There was victory.  

WHEN they followed God's instructions.  When they did not, they suffered defeat.  

If they had acquired horses and chariots, perhaps they would have put more trust in those
things than in God.  Perhaps if they had chosen to let people live, those people would have influenced them in negative ways.  

Speculation.  The fact is simply, God said. 

I am assured my own personal victory.  Jesus has fought a gruesome battle and won it for me.  He has provided a permanent prevention for me, preventing me from being eternally separated from my Father God.  

Hallelujah.  

Shame

Shame on you!

Ever had anyone say that to you?  I am guilty.  I have heard it, but worse, I have said it.

Shame is a heavy thing.  The question is what do we do with it?  Do we let it drive us to confession and repentance, or do we run, hide, deny, blame, make excuses, and rebel?

There was no shame in the beginning.  "... the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed." (Genesis 2:25 NASB)  Only after they acquired a knowledge of evil did they know their nakedness had a capacity for sin and shame.  Before their knowledge of evil, there was no shame in ANYthing.

We all know it now. "'Lo, this only I have found, that God has made man upright, but they have sought out any inventions.' (Ecclesiastes 7:29 KJV)  There is plenty evil, and humans keep inventing new ways of manifesting it.

Yep.  I am guilty of saying "Shame on you." and I am guilty of lots of other things.  But praise God that feeling of shame drives me to Jesus.  Try as I might, I still drop the ball and fall into wrong thinking, wrong actions, wrong attitudes, and worse...wrong speech.

"A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it!

It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire.  A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that.

By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.

This is scary: You can tame a tiger,  but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done..." (James 3:5-8 from The Message)

I am guilty of that too.

And every time I feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit concerning my guilt, rather than just feel shame, I purpose my heart to confess the ugliness within, repent and again turn my heart to follow Him as "...the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses me from all sin..' (1 John 1:7 NASB personalized by me)

I continue to be a work in progress, regretting that I so easily fail Him, but secure in His love and mercy, not drowning in the shame of all my failures.

Hallelujah.

Position

I am prone to get on my soapbox and blab about folks who won't work.  I especially rant about those who won't take a job because it isn't the job they 'want'.  "Some folks want a position, not a job." I can be quoted as saying.

When the Hebrew people were preparing to cross into the Promised Land they had heard about literally all their lives, they were given specific instructions about following the ark.

"When you see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then you shall move from your place and go after it.  Yet keep a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, so that you may know the way by which you must go. For you have not passed this way before now." (Joshua 3: 3-4 MKJV)

That was NOT the position I would want to take.  I would be like those shoppers on Black Friday trying to get in the very front!  Certainly, not in the multitude of people hanging back 1000 yards!  But, if they had crowded around the small ark of the covenant, everyone could not have seen to follow.  If would have surely been like the crowd on Black Friday!  (I experienced that crowd only one time...haven't been back!)

Position can be critical can't it?  We all want to be first, up front, important...whether we openly admit it or not.  Nobody enjoys being pushed to the rear, swept aside, ignored.  We want to at least be acknowledged, certainly not intentionally disregarded.

I have very little competitive nature.  If you want something enough to compete with me for it, most likely I will let you have it.  I don't really want to be the star of the show, or singled out for a lot of recognition.  I am uncomfortable with all of that.  But I do want to be acknowledged.  Don't you? 

Read thru Hebrews chapter 11.  It is often called the Hall of Faith chapter, naming names and recognizing faith.  But if you do some character study, not one of those mentioned  was without flaws.  Lots of them.  Big ones.  None of them earned or deserved a position in scripture by living a perfect life. 

My position in Christ has absolutely nothing to do with my behavior, (and everything to do with HIS.)

The first part of the book of Hebrews teaches us that Christ Jesus' position is superior to any other. And because of His perfect sinless life, and His sacrificial death, my position is altared eternally.

Not because I am religious. (legal jargon...)
Not because I am a good person. (good?....you just might not see all of what is me...)
Not because I don't do a lot of sinning. (ridiculous logic..)
Not because I do good things. (very few really...)
Not because I belong to the right church. (right?...can't be a wrong one since there IS only one...regardless of what your sign says, HE decides who is included. He either added you or He did not.  And He is the ONLY one who can!)

My position in Christ is simply by His grace in placing me within His family.  No waiting in line for my turn.  No getting knocked out of the possibility or opportunity  No cleaning myself up first.  Not eliminating the bad and cultivating some good. Just. As. I. Am. 

I am so very undeserving.


"To You, O LORD, I called, And to the Lord I made supplication....

"Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me; O LORD, be my helper." 

You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,   That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever. (Psalm 30:8-12 NASB)


I am not a super-star child of God.  But I am special enough that He made an awful sacrifice for my benefit.

There is a LOT that I am NOT.  But my position is sealed and secure because of that sacrifice. 

Hallelujah. 

Last_______?_________

My mind wanders today to the thousands of those I do not know, those who fill in the blank with so many things.

Their last normal day.
The last time Daddy came home from work. Maybe overly tired and grouchy, and you thought he was awful.
The last time Mom came home sharing about her day, and you weren't interested.
The last time you made plans for after work, and actually got to do what you planned.
The last time.  A million memories of that last day.

My heart hurts, and I pray for God's peace and comfort to those whose heart hurts more than I can fathom.

What would they change?

Suffering

Doesn't it just drive you crazy to see others doing things they shouldn't?  With age and experience those instances seem to have increased.  We see people we care about making wrong choices, exhibiting wrong attitudes, being rebellious or disobedient to what God has said...and we can't do a single thing about it.  

Ever see the movie Bruce Almighty?  There is a scene where Bruce asks God how to make someone love him.  You can't.

It's one of those movies that caused a lot of controversy, but watched with the knowledge that it is simply fiction, it causes some thinking.  Or it did for me anyway. 

How do you get people to love and be obedient to God? How do you make people see how trustworthy He is, that what He says do or do NOT do, is ALWAYS for a very good reason.  It is always for our ultimate good. sigh...

"I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death..." (Phillipians 3:10 NIV) 

The first half of that verse is so encouraging. To know Christ and come to know His power to resurrect and restore is wonderful.

The word resurrection in the original language has to do with a standing up again, raised to life, rise from the dead, recovery.   I want that don't you?  I want to recover from every heartache, every hard season of life, and I sure want death to not be the finality for me.  (And praise God, that matter is settled!) 

Resurrection from this earthly life is settled for me.  The very familiar John 3:16 and dozens more scriptures gives me a personal assurance of that. But what about this suffering? 

We can't enjoy the power without also participating in the suffering.  I know the power He has exercised in my life personally.  I know the differences He has made.  I have witnessed the life changes in not only myself, but others.  And I also know the suffering and heartsickness of seeing Him rejected and disobeyed.  

I have not been called to suffer my physical life being threatened.  I have not been beaten or put in a cell.  But it is also suffering to witness people struggling against the pricks of His Spirit, rebelling against a love that is beyond human capacity, continuing to chart their own path, demanding their own way regardless of whether God has even been consulted much less followed. 

Oh how it must hurt the heart of God to see our continued disregard. If it hurts my heart this much to see what I see, how heavy that suffering is to see the disregard and disobedience of the entire human race!

Me included.  

Training

I have never done weight training. But I have two sons who, at times have done it extensively.  I work with gals who have trainers who help them and encourage them as they tone and build muscles, become stronger and leaner

I have never done much of it in a physical sense, but I have sure done a lot in the spiritual sense.

In scripture, we are taught about strength.  In his second letter to Timothy, Paul encouraged young Timothy to "...be strong...endure..compete lawfully...study..." (2 Timothy chapter 2)

I applaud physical health and physical strength, yet our bodies are not our own. "...didn't you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit? Don't you see that you can't live however you please, squandering what God paid such a high price for? The physical part of you is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you.  God owns the whole works. So let people see God in and through your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 from The Message)

It matters that we are strong.  Lifting an increasingly heavy weight builds muscle. 

In the same way, enduring trials and the difficulties of life in the strength that our Creator provides in His Holy Spirit  builds spiritual stamina and faith muscles. 

I will be the first to tell you that I am physically weak.  Very weak.  I have never tried to be physically strong. If it is heavy, I don't even try to lift it.  I quit.  I call someone stronger than me to do it. That doesn't make me lazy, or irresponsible. 

In the same way, when I face a heavy and difficult life situation, I call Someone stronger than me.  In no way does that diminish my worth or value. 

The goal of my life is to face each heavy moment in victory, and I simply can not do that without some seriously strong help. 

Those who want strong muscles do the work. They sweat, grunt and groan with increasing repetition.

They follow the training, challenged and encouraged to persevere. If results are desired, then sacrifices must be made in order for those results to manifest.

I don't have a lot of desire to be physically strong.  But oh how I want to be strong in the undeserved love and grace of God! 

I am thankful to know His love more than before, but I believe scripture's teaching that His love is beyond my comprehension.  I will never know it fully on this side of eternity.

Yet, I purpose myself today to try.

Kicking

"...it is hard for you to kick against the pricks" (Acts 9:5 KJV).

Saul heard those words spoken from a blinding light straight out of the heavens.  He was traveling down a road, doing what he thought he should be doing, and God spoke.

I don't think this was the first time God had spoken to Saul.  Perhaps there were whispers before, nudges, maybe even harder.  Whatever it was, Saul kicked back. The man we know as Paul the apostle apparently kicked against the pricks of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had intentions for Saul's life and Saul had intentions of eliminating all who followed Jesus.

Personally, I believe Paul was thoroughly convinced he was doing the right thing.  He was a Jew's Jew, educated by the best, and single minded about his obedience to the law he knew so well.

But he was wrong.

And God corrected him.

How many times had God tried to get his attention before that blinding light experience? Maybe none....scripture doesn't tell us, it just tells us that it was hard and pointless to rebel and refuse God's will.

I suppose Paul could still have refused obedience and submission.  But after losing his sight, hearing a voice nobody else heard, and given instructions of where to go and who to see, Paul came face to face with His Savior, and face to face with his own error. He was wrong.

I have never had a blinding light experience.  I have not heard a voice speak from the sky. But I have kicked against the pricks.  There have been many times that I felt that nudge, or heard that whisper in my heart, and just kicked it away.

Regret eventually comes.  Hindsight reveals how disobedient I was being to the God Who only wants to lead me in the right direction.

I remember a very old joke about someone complaining to a doctor about it hurting when they did a certain thing.  The doctor's prescribed treatment was to simply NOT do that.

When I am disobedient to God, it eventually hurts ME.  Whether it is that moment, that day, that week, or year, or whether it is on the other eternal side of this realm. My disobedience hurts me.

So, why don't I just "don't do that"?

I can answer that.  I don't do it because I am still learning that God is always right.  Whether I understand and agree, or whether I do not.

I purpose to stop kicking against the prick of His Holy Spirit.
I purpose to believe that what He directs is always, and ONLY, good.

Help

Every single one of us needs help.  Often.

My man can't hold the board up and nail it at the same time, so he needs my help holding it.
My coworkers are called on to hold the door open as I bring in boxes and sacks of supplies.
My employees unpack freight and process merchandise because I am busy cutting hair.
My housekeeper dusts my furniture because I work 5-6 days a week.
My friends listen to my whining because I have to vent.

It is hard for me to ask for help. That devil's lie has been used so effectively for so many years that I easily fall back into listening.  "It's all up to you, Connie.  This is your responsibility, your fault.  You alone should be the one to fix it. You are weak and useless if you can't."

He is a liar.

Life gets hard.  We make poor decisions. Situations get hard.  Circumstances are difficult. And we need help.

"From my distress I called upon the Lord.  The Lord answered me and set me in a large place.  The Lord is for me.  I will not fear."  Psalm 118:5-6 NASB

God knows every detail, every need, every fear, every anxiety.  He waits for our call, willing to step in when we truly submit and surrender to His will and way.  He sends help.  Often in the most unexpected ways.  We may not even recognize that it IS His answer and help until we are well past the moment.

For that person who needs help this day, you can be sure that God is willing and more than able.  From your distress, will you ask Him to reveal the enemy attack for what it is?

Will you admit that try as you may, you can't do life without failing miserably?

Will you believe that God does love you, enough even to die for you?

Will you trust Him enough to wait for the large place He has for you?

Perhaps you are in that large place already.  Wherever you find yourself, you can be certain that God knows where you are and why.

Do not fear.

Wrong Side Out

I spend hours in front of a mirror.  A big one.  A really good one, clear and clean.  I am so accustomed to it, I rarely see my own reflection.

 Occasionally I notice something about what it reflects and wonder out loud why everyone let me walk around like that, hair poking straight up, tags still on my clothing, shirt on backwards or wrong side out.  (I'm sure I am the only one who has things like that happen to them...)

There was no excuse. The mirror would have shown me, I didn't know what I looked like because I didn't look.

God's law as revealed to us in scripture shows us what we look like.  Jesus personified what a perfect obedient life looks like. He also made it possible for us to escape the penalty for failing to live that perfect life.  (Praise His holy Name)

Failing to learn what God has revealed to us in scripture is like me not checking out my reflection.  Just because I don't look doesn't mean I don't have some flaw that needs to be addressed and dealt with. Not looking doesn't change the fact that my shirt is on wrong side out.

Not looking into God's holy scripture won't change my wrong side out life.  It WILL reveal just how flawed I am. "..:it was the law that showed me my sin.  I would never have known that coveting was wrong if the law had not said, "You must not covet."  (Romans 7:7 NLT)

God's grace, thru the life and death of Jesus Christ, makes it possible to turn my whole life right, not just point out the flaws.  And there are plenty of them!

Don't fail or neglect to look into His Word, check yourself out. Not looking doesn't change a thing.  Looking prayerfully and then obediently will change everything!

Trenches

I have been reading The Battle Plan for Prayer. It is a Bible study written from the movie War Room. Prayer is a topic that is always fresh, never completely learned because there is always more with God. He is infinite.

Trench warfare was used as an example. So, this is not an original thought with me, but I just had to put the book down and sit at Jesus feet a few minutes.

I find myself on the battle ground regularly, don't you? Some things are bigger than others, mountain-top times of victory are times of praise, but other times I find myself dug in, hiding in a trench, avoiding the enemy attack as best I can. Often, sadly, I just retreat into that trench instead of using that trench to pray.

It is a devil's deceitful lie that it is better to charge the enemy, that it is cowardly to dig into that trench. The liar and enemy of our souls screams "Face me you coward!" That devil tries to convince us that it's all up to us, that we should charge across that battleground else all is lost.

I think of the images I have seen of battles fought in centuries past, soldiers marching to the beat of a drum across an open field, shooting until a last man is standing. I have so often thought how senseless that was. Yet I find myself guilty of having done just that in some of my spiritual battles.

Those early armies finally turned away from that sort of battle tactic and dug themselves some trenches.

I purpose my heart to dig into the trench, knowing that God is beside me and He has defeated even death. I have armies of God that are unseen, fighting beside me, fighting with me and for me, even going before me...I will never know what will never touch me because of that truth.

I also purpose to listen closely for His direction. When it is time to stand and fight, I trust Him to make His command clear. Over and over I surrender not to the enemy, but to my Creator God. I submit over and over to my Savior Jesus, not to the screaming enemy.

There is a time to charge, a time to use weapons. But the weapons to use are not those of the world. (2 Cor. 10:4) We can squat down in the trench and wield the deadliest weapon of all.

God's Word. Because what He says simply IS.

I purpose to KNOW what He has said.
I purpose to fight in HIS strength and not my own.
I purpose to "...take every single thought I have and capture it, purposing to be obedient to Christ in every confrontation." ( 2 Cor. 10:5 my own paraphrase)

Hallelujah.

Location

In the age of cell phones, we all know what location services are.  If we turn the location service off then other people don't see where we are and our applications don't fully work, I can't map my way if my map application can't tell where to start from. 

God asked Adam and Eve about their location.  "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9)

God knew where they were.  It was Adam and Eve that needed to realize their location. 

God orchestrated an opportunity for His people to hear Him, recognize their wrong, and come honestly to Him.  But they hid, blamed, and made excuses.  Yet even in His judgment and the expulsion from the garden, God protected them.  

The first animals ever killed gave their lives to make garments that covered the shame and nakedness that resulted from sin.  God Himself made that sacrifice, just a picture of the ultimate and permanent sacrifice of Christ. 

Adam and Eve were sent out of God's garden, the Tree of Life guarded so that they would never eat from it.  Even in the midst of God's judgment and punishment, He was merciful that they not eat of it's fruit and live forever in the state of sin they were now in. 

Where are you?  I ask myself that question, too.  Am I hiding? 

We do well to turn our location services on, crying out to God, with undivided honest hearts, searching ourselves, laying all bare before Him. 

He knows it.  There is no hiding.  It is only from ourselves that we hide.  

Thinking....



“Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you're on their side, working with them and not against them…Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.

It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.

 Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies."
Phillipians 4:5-9 from The Message

This passage has been heavy on my mind for several days.  It holds one of the lists we are given in scripture that is worth noting.

• True
• Honest
• Just
• Pure
• Lovely
• Good report
• Admirable
• Praiseworthy

That’s some good stuff.  But it is so much easier to dwell on the negatives.  Certainly, our enemy will influence us to do so, to criticize, tear down, accuse.  I surely don’t want people letting him influence them to be of that mindset toward me.  But so often, I confess that I am influenced to go there myself.  God help and forgive. Even more, restore what may have been damaged by my error.

Wherever my mind goes is often where my words and actions follow.  Paul’s instructions here are to be purposeful in our thinking.  Can we step back and examine what is influencing our thoughts?  What might a careful examination reveal?  What sources beside God’s will and Word might influence our thinking, thereby influencing our behavior and our words? 

There is so much wrong, everywhere we look we can easily find wrong!  Oh Lord God, help us to have eyes to see good things, and to be the instruments in Your Mighty Hand to build up, to encourage,  to bring unity, and to be people who love.  Especially when it is difficult to love.  Pour into us extra measures of love and grace and make us as free to give as we are to receive. 

 

Whole lotta shakin' goin' on....♪♫••*•♫♪♫•*•♫♪♪*•♫♪♪♫••*•♫♪♫•*•♫♪♪*•♫♪♪♫••*•♫♪♫•*•♫♪♪*

“At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."

The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe..”(Hebrews 12:26-28 NIV)


We are abrupty brought to realize the fact…what we depend on is undependable.

Health fails, then we can’t work to earn the money we depend on, or we lose our job and lose the income we rely on to meet our needs.

Death strikes unannounced, and removes people we planned to grow old with. Accidents steal parts of what we imagined lay ahead.

Betrayal changes what we thought our future would be like.

Spouses leave, children rebel, parents forsake, and what we anticipated and assumed goes up in smoke.

Shaking. It knocks us off balance, brings us to our knees our heads reeling and our hearts breaking. Every single thing in this realm can be shaken and might fall apart at any moment.

There is only One Who is unshakable, only one thing sure, and that is eternity.

I purpose today to live in His kingdom, depend on His provision, and trust Him for tomorrow.

I purpose to appreciate what He has given but not cling to it, knowing that it is only Him that I can truly anchor myself in. He can and will remove everything else….

All is calm, all is bright…

Miles from home and family, a long and uncomfortable ride on a donkey at full term pregnancy, a city full of fellow travelers, no place to find shelter except a barn full of animals…yet everything calm and bright? 

When I get to heaven, I want to sit and visit with Mary.  I want to talk about all those things she “pondered in her heart.” (Luke 2:19 KJV) Was that night calm and bright?  

Just yesterday I heard a young woman testify about peace.  She had a tragic and terrifying event in her life.  Horror and fear were consuming for days and days.  Yet today, she marvels at the peace she has found. 

Mary was an ordinary young woman. Whatever calmness she experienced was from her God.  The young woman I mention receives her peace from the same God. 

Jesus spoke and the angry sea became calm. (Mark 4:39) 

He is Lord over creation, and we humans are His creations. 

He can speak calm into our lives.  

I am confident that Mary basked in His peace on more than one occasion.  She was an ordinary human being, chosen for an extraordinary task.  

What task might we be chosen for?

Will we, like Mary, say "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38 NASB)

Mary was and will never be anything more than... human.  She was created and redeemed by the same God of heaven.  

With God’s help and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, we too can walk thru whatever God allows into our lives experiencing His peace.  

Even our chaotic world can indeed be calm and bright. 

 

Swimming upstream...

Times roll around when I find myself exhausted from all the effort.  I feel like a fish trying to swim upstream against a very swift current.   Three steps forward followed by two steps back.

I am reminded by that still small Voice that it’s not always as it seems.  Probably, it is seldom like it seems to me in the moment.

It is easy to become frustrated and discouraged.  Work hard, make some progress then watch things stop going smoothly and become challenging.   Again.

I hear in my spirit that whisper.  “Don’t focus on this moment.  Don’t assume the future.  Look behind you at all the hard places you have been and know that I am still God, still have purpose, and am still in command.”

I can’t swim much at all. I would surely have a hard time swimming upstream.  I can dog paddle just enough to keep my ears out of the water. (I hate having my ears fill with water.)

Why does God allow me to again and again face current?  Why when I finally get to smooth waters does He allow the current to become swift again?  The age-old question.  Why does God allow suffering?

I look back on the most difficult times of my life and see His fingerprints all over me.  I would not have the relationship with Him that I have were it not for times of difficulty.  The swimming upstream had purpose, to adapt me spiritually.

I must  face the struggles of today and in days ahead bravely and confidently with the knowledge of that truth.  “I consider that my present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in me.” (Romans 8:18 NIrV personalized by me)

God does not allow suffering into my life just to watch me squirm.  He intends to bring blessing from every pain.

He can.  He is God.  And I am simply not.

Hallelujah

Copycat...

When I was a child, being called a copycat was a bad thing.  When my little brother repeated every word I said, trying to make his voice sound like mine, it was more than annoying.  Telling him to ‘stop copying me’ was useless.

I have heard it said that it’s a compliment.  I can do without compliments.

Being a copycat isn’t a new thing.  Personally I think the devil started it all.  He wanted to be like God.  From the incident in the garden he has been copying God and he hasn’t stopped yet.

In Revelation, John described the vision he was given.  Chapter 13 describes a dragon, a beast from the sea, and a beast from the earth.   I don’t put a lot of time trying to assign an identity to them. Whoever they are they are certainly not God.  In fact, they are yet another copycat of Him.



Satan tries to pass himself off as triune.  Our God is three in one.  The holy Trinity.  Satan’s dragon and his beasts are three but they are separate and they are unholy.

“…the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast.” (Revelation 13:3 NIV)

Satan even counterfeits the wounds of Christ.

“ It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark.” (Revelation 13:16 NIV)

Satan counterfeits the seal of the Holy Spirit.

“…a second beast……exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf.” (Revelation 13:11-12 NIV)

Satan counterfeits the relationship and unity of God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son.


Satan is a copycat.

We are wise to know the authentic Creator so well that we spot a copycat without pause.


“Whoever has ears, let them hear.”(Revelation 13:9 NIV)

Thank You God for giving this Revelation to John.  Thank You that it has stood the test of time, preserved throughout the ages so that we know the end of our story.  Come what may, You are God and You will not be displaced from Your throne.  

Hallelujah.

Know it all...

I’ve been called one.  I’ve called a lot of other people the same.  Truth is, there’s not one.  Nobody knows it all except God.  Even Jesus Christ didn’t know it all.


“Heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will never pass away. No one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know.  The Son does not know. Only the Father knows.” (Mark 13:31-32 NIrV)

That used to be my excuse for not really applying myself to the study of  the book of Revelation.   Why try to figure it all out when Jesus Himself doesn’t know what day or hour?

I have discovered a huge truth this year as I attend Bible Study Fellowship and look at the scriptures of John’s Revelation.  It’s not about time stamps.  It’s not about knowing it all.

 I will never know it all until I awake on the other side of this realm.  Then I will “…see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1Cor. 13:12b NIV)   I can’t wrap my finite brain around the magnificent truths that are so other-worldly than my reality.


But John promised, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3 NIV)

I didn’t know it all when I began this study, I don’t know it all yet, and don’t expect to at the end of the year.

But I am blessed in the attempt.  I am blessed because it is a book that reveals Jesus Christ.  Not time stamps.

Pointing a finger....

There’s a saying about finger pointing.  You point one at someone else and three more point back at you.  I was taught as a child it wasn’t polite to point.  As an adult, I have learned that it is not beneficial to point out fault.  I’m guilty of it still, but I know it is counter productive.

Nobody likes their shortcomings pointed out, but the devil will do his best to insure that our faults are pointed out, even proclaimed.  He is called ‘the accuser of our brothers and sisters’ in scripture.  (Revelation 12:10 NIV)  Satan got thrown out for his wrong behavior so he is quick to recognize wrong behavior in us and eager to point it out to God.  He accuses us every chance he gets.

And he gets plenty.

Jesus instructed us to  "Settle matters quickly with your adversary…” (Matthew 5:25 NIV)

When the devil accuses us we can be secure in acknowledging the truth that we do come up short. We are sinners.  Every single one of us.  “..for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23 NIV)

I agree with Satan that I sin frequently and punishment is deserved.

But I do not live in condemnation.  I do not live under a burden of guilt.  Like those in John’s vision I have “…defeated him through the blood of the Lamb and the bold word of my witness.” (Revelation 12:11 The Message personalized by me)

I have not defeated him by anything I have done or said.  The blood over the doorpost of my heart has defeated him.

My testimony of His grace defeats my enemy.

Not my rule keeping.
Not my attempts to alleviate my guilt
Nothing I do to make myself look better,.
No behavior I can add or subtract.
Not an emotional high.
Not enough time under baptismal water.
Not numerous times down the church aisle.
Not laying myself on the carpet of a church altar.

Absolutely no activity.

 “marturia- evidence given (judicially or generally): - record, report, testimony, witness.” (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary)

My report echos John’s words on the shores of Jordan.

My fingers point with John’s.

"Behold, the Lamb of God!"  (John 1: 36 NIV)

Fight like the devil....

I’ve used that phrase.  It’s not a good phrase.  I need to take it out of my vocabulary.

The devil does fight.  He has been fighting for a very long time.  “And there was war in heaven…” (Revelation 12:7 NIV)

 Fighting like the devil… yes, he most certainly is.  But he is a defeated foe.



I think of a scene in  the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou, where two of the characters discuss the devil.

Pete: I've always wondered, what's the devil look like?
Ulysses Everett McGill: Well, there are all manner of lesser imps and demons, Pete, but the great Satan hisself is red and scaly with a bifurcated tail, and he carries a hay fork.

I am certain the devil doesn’t look anything like that, and I am even more certain that the battle between God’s holiness and the devil’s fight is decided.


The more I study John’s revelation, the more I realize I can’t grasp it all.  But I am blessed in the effort.